By MARK MACDONALD Staff reporter Aug 03 2007 http://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/
Local developers have beem granted some leeway in paying the development cost charge (DCC) tax at Tuesday’s city council meeting. Current, DCCs are paid up-front. New system, grace period of . City councillors also approved a 34 per cent hike in DCCs, increasing the cost of a single family home in Kamloops by about $4,000. Developers pay the DCC tax to the city to allow for infrastructure extensions to new developments. The grace period offers developers the option of paying the DCC levy in the initial stages of a development or delaying payment until building permits are issued. But Mayor Terry Lake said the grace period, which was given unanimous approval by city councillors, could pose a financial risk to the city. “Are we not risking a lag?” he said. He said the city could front the money to allow developers to clear land for a subdivision only to find the subdivision not filling out with homes. He noted this scenario played out in Pineview Valley subdivision near Dufferin. “I think that’s a pretty big risk for the city to take,” he said.
Coun. Peter Milobar said the hike in the DCC tax thrust the city into a “balancing act” with local developers, who were upset with the DCC increase. “That was . . . a reasonable compromise for us to come to,” Milobar said. Kamloops Homebuilders Association executive director Patsy Bourassa decried the increase at a city council meeting in May. Milobar said there is a “lag time” for the newly adjusted DCCs to take affect. He added developers building today will incur a two-year-old DCC rate. Lake said the city could review the grace period agreement in two years to determine if the system poses any financial risk to the city. “We can always go back,” he said. The city will also apply for a grant from the provincial government which would help determine if environmental-friendly construction could reduce DCCs.
No comments:
Post a Comment